How the Honda Civic Type R relegates torque steer to history

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Big power and front-wheel drive historically have never mixed well, but we car nerds continue to love hatchbacks and their efficiently packaged, front-wheel-drive powertrains anyway. After all, hatchbacks provide crisp handling, peppy power and light weight, plus oodles of space in a small (and historically affordable) package. But it’s a delicate balance between power and poise. How much is too much before it’s more work than fun?

When Honda announced their latest front-wheel-drive hatchback would yield 306 hp -- more power than a 1995 Corvette -- we feared the worst. But to our surprise (and delight), the Type R does not tug on the wheel no matter how much throttle you ask for. Honda pulled off this wizardry with a new special knuckle and front suspension geometry called the Dual Axis Front Strut.

On the left, Honda's new Dual Axis Suspension, on the right, the more typical strut setup on most cars.

We're going to get technical here. Two metrics play a big role in drive torque tugging on the steering arms: scrub radius and spindle length. The scrub radius is the distance between the centerline of the tire and the steering axis of the tire. Spindle length is distance between the steering axis and the centerline at the center point of the tire. These are very similar, but not the same because the centerline of the tire and the steering axis tend to not be parallel.

That’s a big dollop of geometry and physics, admittedly. Think of it like this: the center of the tires' contact patch is where all the forces between the tire and road occur, but it's not where the steering system and powertrain interact with the tire. The further away steering and drive torque are from that center point, the more those different forces can affect each other. What further exacerbates these conditions is uneven torque between the drive and passenger side wheel.

With traditional front axles, it’s virtually impossible to minimize the scrub radius and spindle length. Honda instead circumvented the issue by redesigning the hub with additional joints to reduce the aforementioned metrics and allow the drivetrain and steering system to coexist without comingling. This is the closest we’ve seen to eating your cake and having it too, and we love it.

Other companies have used similar suspension designs: Ford calls its version the RevoKnuckle and GM more literally named it the HiPer Strut, but Honda arguably executed the design best. For more detail on the how and why this system works, check out Jason Fenske’s video (above) on the engineering behind the Type R’s trick setup, and be sure to check out our drives of the Civic Type R here and here.

Look no further than the driver’s seat to understand Honda’s intentions with the Civic Type R. Heavily bolstered on the seat bottom and even deeper for the seatback, you can hide the width ...

Robin Warner
- Robin Warner is Editorial Manager at Autoweek. He once tried and failed to become a professional race car driver, but succeeded in learning about debt management and having a story to tell. A former engineer, Warner loves cars for their technology and capability.
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